Gian Andrea Sutter and Ariane Burri have claimed victory in the last 2016 World Rookie Tour event, staged at the Corvastch Snowpark, Switzerland

There's nothing like an awesome sunny day, a perfect park set up and an incredible gang of excited young riders. The Corvatsch Rookie Fest has set the perfect scene for an exciting snowboard session among some of the best young riders in the world. S.Moritz has welcomed 50 riders, and the slopestyle course for the occasion was a blast, with a layout of 10 features: first jib set with a downrail box and a flatdown rail, 2 tables with 2 kickers each and a last jib set with wallride and 2 downrail.

Swiss ripper Gian Andrea Sutter scored best in today’s contest with a solid run. Second and third place for other two swiss: Elias Rupp and Florian Fischer. Also grom boys showed their best with swiss and italian riders on the podium: Nick Pünter from Switzerland, Milco De Feo and Alex Lotorto both from Italy.

In the girls' competition Ariane Buri (SUI) took the first place in the rookie category. Ariane wins ahead of two other swiss riders, Babet Bischof and Anna Müller. On the groms' side, Annika Morgan (GER) impressed the judges with her run, Lena Müller (SUI) and Livia Tannò (SUI) rounded out the podium as second and third, respectively.

Black Yeti is really proud to announce that Corvatsch Rookie Fest is confirmed and planned for 2017 and 2018. So young guns, see you next year in Corvatsch from 14th to 17th December 2017!

Stay tuned for the upcoming World Rookie Tour event, the 2017 edition of the legendary World Rookie Fest at the Mottolino Snowpark in Livigno, Italy, scheduled from the 14th to the 19th January 2017: an event we highly recommend! All information about the event will be released on monday 19th December.

FWT renews partnerships with ISTA and ABS; signs new partnership with RECCO

December 15, 2016 – Lutry, Switzerland – The Freeride World Tour (FWT) reaffirms its commitment to mountain safety by renewing partnerships with ISTA (International Snow Training Academy) and ABS Avalanche Airbag, and by signing a new agreement with RECCO AB (search and rescue devices).

By working closely with these official safety partners, the FWT aims for the highest level of safety standards in the mountain environment. RECCO Advanced Rescue Technology and ABS Avalanche Airbag partnerships will extend through the 2019 season – 2020 for ISTA – and provide mandatory equipment and snow safety education for athletes for the upcoming seasons.

ISTA is an international progressive avalanche awareness training program founded by freeskier Dominique Perret. The ISTA curriculum was developed for backcountry enthusiasts by over forty experts from nine countries on three continents. All FWT athletes participate in ISTA snow safety training in Chamonix before the first competition of the 2017 season. ISTA instructors include highly-experienced IFMGA guide, Claude-Alain Gailland, and former FWT riders Emilien Badoux and Richard Amacker. For more information regarding ISTA please visit www.ista-education.com.

“Safety is the number one priority for Freeride World Tour. Education is the first and most important aspect of mountain safety. Our partnership with ISTA is therefore an essential pillar of FWT's education mission.”- Nicolas Hale-Woods, CEO FWT

Avalanche airbags continue to be required equipment for all athletes competing on the FWT and FJWC (Freeride Junior World Championships), as well as certain stops of the FJT (Freeride Junior Tour). The renewed partnership with ABS Avalanche Airbag ensures that these athletes ride with this essential tool for avalanche safety.

New for the 2017 season, event organizers are teaming up with RECCO Advanced Rescue Technology search and rescue to provide snow safety products for every competitor.

“Safety is the number one priority for Freeride World Tour. Thanks to our partnership with RECCO AB, all riders competing at World Tour level, Qualifier level and Junior level, worldwide, will be equipped with a RECCO reflector. In addition to the avalanche transceiver, this second electronic means for rescuers to search for avalanche victims will improve safety.”- Nicolas Hale-Woods, CEO FWT

“The RECCO Advanced Rescue Technology has been a global standard in professional avalanche rescue for many years. With this cooperation we are proud to say that we are also a standard for the FWT.”- Johan Sauer, VP RECCO AB

In addition to RECCO reflectors and avalanche airbags, the FWT requires that all competitors in every competition carry an avalanche transceiver, shovel, probe, and know how to use them. Physical protection is provided by mandatory helmets and certified back protection. All equipment, verified on competition day prior to events, is mandatory in order to compete.

For ten years the FWT has encouraged and developed responsible safety practices for athletes, competitors, spectators, and the entire freeride community. The FWT continues to stand by these commitments by partnering with the industry to evaluate and implement new technologies and practices.

Save the dates – only six weeks until the 2017 season opener in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc!

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS: DROP INTO THE 10TH EDITION OF THE SWATCH FREERIDE WORLD TOURSave the dates – only six weeks until the 2017 season opener in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc!

December 13, 2016 – Lutry, Switzerland – In less than fifty days, on January 28, 2017, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France hosts the opener of the 2017 winter season as fifty freeriders from around the world embark on their quest to secure the title of world champion on the five-stop Swatch Freeride World Tour. The Chamonix Valley welcomes a field of twenty-two ski men, eleven ski women, nine snowboard men, and eight snowboard women for the 10th edition of the legendary international freeride competition league.

After the debut stop of the tour, the world’s most elite freeriders will travel to Vallnord-Arcalís, the Continent’s renowned Pyrenean freeride destination. The pressure begins to mount as riders face the first round of cuts after the make-or-break third stop in Fieberbrunn, Austria. The elite remaining qualified athletes have the opportunity to advance overseas to the highly sought-after spines and peaks of Haines, Alaska, and back to the grand finale in Verbier, Switzerland where the world champions in all four categories are crowned.

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France – January 28 – THE WINTER BEGINSThe season opener for the 2017 Swatch Freeride World Tour once again welcomes the world’s top freeriders to Europe’s highest peaks.

Vallnord-Arcalís, Andorra – February 11 – HOLD THE LINEStraddling the border of Spain and France, Europe’s southwestern freeride capital hosts athletes on the best freeride terrain in the Pyrenees.

Fieberbrunn, Austria – March 6 – CRUNCH TIMEThe pressure builds as in the heart of Tyrol as riders give it their all to qualify for Alaska, continue vying for the world title, and compete on next year’s FWT.

Haines, Alaska, USA – March 18-25, 2017 – THE DREAM STOPA dream comes true as athletes make the journey to ride the most spectacular freeride terrain in the world.

Verbier, Switzerland – April 1 – THE GRAND FINALEFor over 20 years the Bec des Rosses has challenged riders as the ultimate test piece – the final chapter on the road to becoming world champion.

Black Yeti is very excited to announce the 2017 World Rookie Tour, including his first shows in Kaprun for the legendary World Rookie Finals!

World Rookie Tour kicked off August 21st in Chile and will stretches through April hitting some of the best ski resorts all over the world like Corvatsch, for the second year in a rough, Livigno and Monte Bondone for the main youth snowboarding events in Italy, Arena Platos in Romania, Pamporovo in Bulgaria, Nekoma in Japan and Seven Springs in US. The last stop of the year will take us to Kaprun, Austria, for the first time. World Rookie Final has expanded to include both slopestyle and halfpipe contests in order to awards the new World Rookie and Grom Champions.

World Rookie Tour represents the highest level of competitive youth snowboarding contests in the world, with more than 35 nationals teams competing each year in the rookie’s and grom’s divisions, and more than 1.000 riders joining it annually. All the events are life experience where freestyle events are combined with lifestyle activities, workshops and social moments.

World Rookie Champion and many other riders will get incredible prizes included all-inclusive tickets to the 2017 South America Rookie Trip in Chile and invitations to the Rookie Photo Shooting. Last season, 6 Rookies joined the shooting at the Mottolino Snowpark in Livigno for the traditional end of season shooting, after the Big Final. The shooting is an unique opportunity to join a professional photo and video session. Whatch here the World Rookie Shooting in Livigno!

Spread the word and share this announcement. Next stop is coming up in Corvatsch for the second edition of the Corvatsch Rookie Fest, from the 15th to the 18th December 2016. Find more info here. The rest of 2017 is going to be exciting! More details for each events may be found on the tour page here.

Everybody knows it, every kid loves it, and every champion was here! The 2017 World Rookie Tour, along with locations and formats, is as follows:

The FWT Management SA has renewed partnerships with the operators of the two legendary freeride destinations

December 1, 2016 – Lutry, Switzerland – FWT Management SA, the organizing body of the Swatch Freeride World Tour, Freeride World Qualifiers (FWQ), and Freeride Junior Tour (FJT) has renewed two contracts with both Fieberbrunn, Austria (for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons) and Vallnord-Arcalís, Andorra (for the 2018, 2109 and 2020 seasons). These agreements will ensure that the two stops on the FWT will continue to host freeride competitions for the upcoming three seasons.

Since 2010 Fieberbrunn has been witnessing amazing action and crowning many champions on its well known Wildseeloder. An original pioneer in the sport of freeride, the resort is part of the larger Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang resort zone – one of the world’s largest ski areas and longtime freeride hotspot. The legacy of freeride combined with the abundance and variety of terrain were all decisive factors in the decision to renew this three-year partnership.

“Fieberbrunn, as the only FWT venue in the German-speaking countries, is delighted to contribute essentially with the Freeride World Tour and Freeride Juniors events to the positive winter sports development in the Alpine region.”Toni Niederwieser, Bergbahnen Fieberbrunn CEO

In addition to the elite FWT competition, the resort will be hosting a junior event that is a stop on the FJT, allowing young riders, aged 14-18, to participate in the sport of freeride in one of the centers of Austrian out of bounds skiing and snowboarding.

“Fieberbrunn is an amazing spot for freeriding. The local community's commitment to organizing great events is unique. For the Freeride World Tour, partnering for another three years with Fieberbrunn is very exciting news!"Nicolas Hale-Woods, FWT CEO

Shifting from the Alps to the Pyrenees, another deal signed between FWT Management SA and Vallnord-Arcalís, Andorra organizers will also secure three more years of Freeride World Tour events in the landlocked nation straddling the boarder of Spain and France. With nearly limitless options for competition faces on highly-featured terrain, it was an important decision to continue hosting events in Europe’s Southern freeride capital.

“Vallnord-Arcalís, as the only FWT stage in the Pyreenes, is delighted to renew this collaboration that allows us to consolidate Vallnord-Arcalís as the freeride reference in southern Europe. We are proud to contribute with Freeride World Tour to develop the great potential of this extraordinary sport”.Xabier Ajona, Vallnord-Arcalís General Manager

“The host resort renewal with Vallnord-Arcalís/Andorra is great news. The resort features state of the art mountains and snow conditions, and the riders and crew loved the Andorran hospitality these last years. The perfect mix for a successful event!"Nicolas Hale-Woods, FWT CEO

Corvatsch is ready to host the second edition of the Corvatsch Rookie Fest scheduled from 15th to 18th December 2016. Following last year’s success, the World Rookie Tour stop will go down in Switzerland at the amazing Corvatsch Snowpark.

The organizers are happy to host the event for the second edition with an all-inclusive package at a very special rate of 370 CHF (for riders) and 340 CHF (for parents and coaches) including: 3 nights hotel in b&b, 3 lift tickets and 1 snow night lift ticket, 1 welcome dinner (Thursday), 1 voucher for dinner in all restaurant in town (Saturday), event registration and welcome pack.

About prize money, all the podium riders will get their spots for the end of season 2017 World Rookie Finals in Kaprun, Austria, 2 all-inclusive invitation to Kaprun, 3 surf camps offered by Surftolive.com in Santander, and many other prizes.

Come and join the Corvatsch Rookie Fest! You can find more information about registrations here

For more information about event, registration and booking please contact Matteo Fregni at rookie@worldsnowboardfederation.org or 0039.059.9783397

Many other events are next to be included to the World Rookie Tour events’ agenda. Black Yeti confirms the legendary World Rookie Fest in Livigno from 14th to 19th January 2017, Bulgarian Rookie Fest in Pamporovo from the 27th to 29th January 2017 and Trentino Rookie Fest in Monte Bondone from 8th to 12th February 2017. All the information about next events will be available soon.

If you dream to become a professional snowboarder,then your future starts from Rookie Fest!

Sun and warm temperatures welcomed enthusiastic spectators to ModenaFiere to witness the first urban rail contest in the history of the World Rookie Tour. Set up was definitely one of the Europe’s best urban rail set in the last years, designed and built by the wise shapers of F-tech Company based in South Tyrol.

33 invited Rookies from 9 different Nations battle it out but it was Florian Fischer from Switzerland who conquer the event with his technical and loose style. All the Rookies gave a spectacle to the hyped crowd and after an exciting contest day, the Helvetic won with a Kamikaze Bs board Pretzel 2 out e Fs 2 in 2 out. Second place for another Swiss rider Gian Andrea Sutter with Kamikaze Fs270 in and Kamikaze Bs 180 in, third place for the Italian Nicola Liviero with a 50-50 to Gap Fs Board Kamikaze and 50-50 to transfer 270 out of the wall.

Scott Walsh from Great Britain took the first place in the Grom’s category with an impressive Bs 270 in 50-50 to frontflip out. Nick Punter (SUI) and Alex Lotorto (ITA) earned second and third place.

For the Rookies the experience was unforgettable, especially for the great visit at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello, a nice overview from the old vintage cars to the new prototypes. Rookies and Black Yeti really enjoyed it! Back to the fair, during the Cash for Trick Night Contest the world’s best rookies rails rippers fought it out for the crowd’s approval. This format allowed the riders to show off their best tricks to the approving cheers of the numerous onlookers.

World Rookie Tour continues with many stops around the world. Many other events are next to be included. Have a look at the World Rookie Tour events agenda below and see the closest event to you! Next stop will be in Corvatsh from 15th to 18th December 2016 for the Corvatsch Rookie Fest!

World Rookie Tour has rarely been easy, mainly thanks to the presence of all the best youth events across the world, but for the 2017 the Black Yeti has decided to raise the bar and reach another goal: to improve the tour that already represent a benchmark on the snowboarding youth competitions, implementing a new format and location for the end of season 2017 World Rookie Finals.

“According to the format upgraded, 2017 World Rookie Finals are announced in a new location, Kaprun. This decision was taken after careful consideration of all possible options. We wanted both disciplines for the finals and now we have it. I would like to take this opportunity of thanking the Ischgl ski resort and touristic office for the past and fruitful cooperation. Ischgl was a great and very professional host for the last 9 years.” stated Meinhard Trojer, WSF President and World Rookie Tour organizer.

About Snowpark Kitzsteinhorn: The Freestyle PlaygroundKitzsteinhorn in Zell am See-Kaprun hosts three world class snowparks and Austrias most delightful superpipe. The sunny, snow-sure location between 2.500 and 2.900 metres, the optimal lift connections and the daily preparation by the motivated local shape crew, make the Snowpark Kitzsteinhorn an ultimate freestyle playground in Austria. The160 metre long and 6,60 metre high Superpipe is one of the highlights.. It pays double for kids and youths to visit the Snowpark Kitzsteinhorn on Saturdays: children and youths between 6 and 19 years old (born 1998 to 2010) only pay 10 Euros for a day ticket, from the 3rd December 2016 until the 29th April 2017. Parks are open from October until May.

Mark the date for the new World Rookie Finals in Kitzsteinhorn, Zell am See-Kaprun: April 04-09, 2017.

The 5th edition of the most important event in junior freeride will host the world’s most promising up-and-coming talent.

October 27, 2016 – Lutry, Switzerland – On February 5, 2017, the ski resort of Grandvalira, Andorra, will welcome over 60 youth riders aged 15-18 for the most prestigious junior championship event in the sport of freeride. The earthshaking level of talent that made last year’s event unforgettable, will once again face off in the Pyrenean epicenter of freeride.

Young skiers and snowboarders have earned their invitation for this championship by their past overall rankings in Freeride Junior events and will represent over 15 nations hailing from Europe, North America, and Oceania.

17 year-old-skier Ross Tester (USA) finished strong last year on the FJWC and will be back this year for the 5th edition. Newcomer on the championship, Olympian Finn Bilous (NZL) has been cleaning up NZL Junior Freeride Tour stops all summer and will definitely treat fans with some freestyle moves. Last but not least, Jake Terry (UK), a man of many talents, has been taking his skills from wake and skateboarding to the slopes, earning him podiums in FJT stops in 2016. “I think this FJWC season is probably going to be the best yet, new events, new people, and new experiences, super excited to start the tour again” says Jake.

The raw talent displayed at last year’s event truly gave the seasoned elite FWT riders a run for their money, so don’t miss your chance to witness the future of freeride!Stay tuned to freerideworldtour.com for the upcoming riders announcement and the latest news concerning competition day.

World Rookie Tour will be starting the new season in ModenaFiere, Italy, with the upcoming World Rookie Rail Jam from October 29th and 30th 2016. The next generation of riders, their coaches and all their families are welcomed to the first World Rookie Tour city event.

To provide the best possible setup for the contest, F-tech crew re-designed the 2015 structure with a new bigger and more technical setup, 3 meters higher than the previous. The new setup will build for serious airtime, ready to become another highlight for the Rookies and Groms of the World Rookie Tour. See you in Modena, the new snow sports capital of Italy!

In addition to 3 wild cards for the 2017 World Rookie Finals in Austria, the World Rookie Rail Jam’s winner will participate at the Invitational Rail Contest “Street Fighters” with the best international pro riders. Street Fighters will take place Tuesday October 1st 2016 on the same pro rail set, with a prize money pool of 5.000€.

As has become the tradition at the World Rookie Tour events, organization will offer the opportunity to attend many side activities that will make the Rookie experience in Modena even more memorable. Cash for Trick Session under floodlights, unmissable visit at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello and the big Skipass final party.

To make the event even more special, 24 invited riders will participate free, included accommodation for 2 nights (29-30 October), entry fee and fair tickets. Every national team has three “all-inclusive” spots for the riders. Coaches and families are welcome with special hotel offers and Skipass fair ticket free.

For those who come by airplane, pick-up service will be available from Bologna airport or from train station “Reggio Emilia Medio Padana”.

For general info registration and hotel booking:matteo@moonsrl.itmobile: +39 34922100170039.059.9783397

WORLD ROOKIE TOUR EARLY SEASON MAIN EVENT IN CORVATSCH IS CONFIRMED

In the meanwhile, Black Yeti is still working on the next season and he is happy to announce you the event after the World Rookie Rail Jam! Indeed, Corvatsch is ready to host the second edition of the Corvatsch Rookie Fest scheduled from 15th to 18th December 2016.

More information about registration and program will be available soon.

If you dream to become a professional snowboarder,then your future starts from Rookie Fest!

The WSF World Rookie Tour is organized by the Black Yeti ssrl in collaboration with World Snowboard Federation and its National Snowboard Associations, and it is made possible by Red Bull. You can follow the World Rookie Tour on our international media partners Onboard European Snowboard magazine and Pleasure Snowboard Magazine.

ABOUT THE WORLD SNOWBOARD FEDERATIONThe World Snowboard Federation (WSF) is the international organization exclusively working to develop the sport of snowboarding at all levels. Program areas include: competitions, Para-Snowboard, judge and shapers, education and certification, and snowboard activities for riders of every age. The WSF represents a network of National Snowboard Associations (NSAs) who work together at a worldwide level to promote the development of snowboarding. NSA members can find a source of inspiration and support from the WSF for the activities they are conducting within their nation and by working towards the same goal: progression of snowboarding from the ground up. The WSF collaborates with the TTR Pro Snowboarding, the owner and operator of the TTR World Snowboard Tour and the TTR World Ranking System. Through this collaboration and coordination of events at the TTR World Snowboard Tour, The WSF and the TTR want to create an environment that fosters the development of competitive snowboarding. In February 2012, the WSF and the TTR hosted the inaugural World Snowboarding Championships in Oslo, Norway, an elite level event to be held every four years in alternating cities around the world. Official website: worldsnowboardfederation.org.

About TTR Pro Snowboarding & World Snowboard TourTTR Pro Snowboarding is a non-profit organization that oversees a professional network of events and athletes. Our objective is to develop and showcase the sport of snowboarding through the World Snowboard Tour, while facilitating a fair and open competition environment that includes innovative judging and ranking systems. We encourage riders to develop from rookies into world-class athletes through a 6 Star level rating system; which will be replaced by a new 4-tiered structure from October 2014. Under the new World Snowboard Tour 2.0, the 4-tiered structure will encompass Elite, International, National, and Regional event levels. Elite events will comprise the WST Pro Series (current working title). The Regional, National, and International levels of the WST 2.0 will make up the WST Qualifying Series (working title).

HAKUBA, NAGANO - JAPAN TO HOST FIRST 4* FREERIDE WORLD QUALIFIER EVENT ON JANUARY 13th, 2017

Lausanne, Switzerland – September 28, 2016 – FWT Management S.A. is proud to announce the first ever international freeride competition on the Asian continent. This inaugural Japanese event for the Freeride World Qualifier (FWQ) is scheduled for January 2017. Situated high in the so-called renowned “Japanese Alps”, the competition will take place in Hakuba, Nagano in an area reputed for spectacular terrain, abundant snow and optimal early season conditions.

This prestigious FWQ 4 stars event is the first step in the development of freeride activities in Japan, a country strong of over 100 years of skiing culture. With the increasing popularity of the sport in Japan and talented young athletes looking for professionalized events and a gateway to worldwide recognition, this expansion into the country opens door to the possibility of seeing one day a Japanese Freeride World Tour (FWT) World Champion.

National and international competitors will have a chance to qualify for the 4 stars event through an open FWQ 2 stars event to be held on the 11th of January in a more accessible venue in Hakuba.

Considered a groundbreaking moment for the sport of freeride, these events were made possible thanks to the intense collaboration work between the FWT Management, Hakuba Tourism and MasterCard.

« Partnering with Hakuba, Japan is one of the most important milestones in Freeride World Tour history. Hakuba proposes an incredible playful terrain with fantastic snow conditions, over a century of winter-sports culture, and a unique, very fine hospitality. Freeride Hakuba 4 stars 2017, first ever freeride competition in Asia, is a first step in freeride development in Japan, and I am convinced many more to follow. » Nicolas Hale-Woods, FWT Management SA Group CEO.

Lausanne, Switzerland – September 22, 2016 – The complete list of finest riders on the world’s premier competitive freeride tour is now available. Get the first glimpse of the world’s top athletes that will be participating on the 10th edition of the five-stop FWT at www.freerideworldtour.com.

The competition will be even more intense this year as the most promising generation of up-and-coming talent from the Freeride World Qualifier (FWQ) will showcase their skills against the top riders of the elite tour. The 2017 season will continue the saga of progression in the sport as established riders attempt reinvent their game and retain their throne or face relinquishing it to the next generation of freeriders.

Snowboard WomenAnne-Flore Marxer (SUI/FRA) will once again be hungry for the title of world champion as she presses Elodie Mouthon (FRA) and attempts to recapture the world title. Returning American star Shannan Yates (USA) will have to use her experience to defend against the tenacity of the incoming riders Audrey Hebert (CAN) and Manuela Mandl (AUT).

Ski WomenThis year could be ripe for a shake-up as longstanding champions like Eva Walkner (AUT) and Jackie Paaso (USA) face intense competition from FWQ skiers Elisabeth Gerritzen (SUI) and Kylie Sivell (CAN). Fresh on the FWT last year but finishing strong, Arianna Tricomi (ITA) is also to be watched.

Snowboard MenAn established American presence will be felt again this year with the likes of Ralph Backstrom (USA) and Sammy Luebke (USA) posing a formidable challenge to younger European riders like Thomas Feurstein (AUT) and French sensation Camille Armand (FRA).

Ski MenAll eyes will be on the rising star, Logan Pehota (CAN), who was narrowly edged out of top spot on the podium by returning champion, Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA) on the 2016 FWT. The question remains: can the upcoming posse of crossover FWT riders like Carl Renvall (SUI) and Sam Lee (NZL) oust these experienced champions?

The Black Yeti, the most famous mascot in the snowboard’s world, will arrive in Modena (Italy) for the first edition of the World Rookie Rail Jam by Skipass. A new World Rookie Tour contest that will take place during the Tourism and Winter Sports Fair at ModenaFiere, the 29th and 30th October 2016.

Skipass, the most important event for mountain and winter sports lovers with more than 86.000 visitors, will be the amazing stage for the first “urban” date ever organized in the history of the World Rookie Tour. Skipass Pro Rail, one of the Europe's best urban rail set in the last years, is designed and built by the wise shapers of the F-tech Company based in South Tyrol.

In addition to 3 wild cards for the 2017 World Rookie Finals in Austria, the World Rookie Rail Jam’s winner will participate at the Invitational Rail Contest “Street Fighters” with the best international pro riders. Street Fighters will take place Tuesday October 1st 2016 on the same pro rail set, with a prize money pool of 5.000€.

As has become the tradition at the World Rookie Tour events, organization will offer the opportunity to attend many side activities, that will make the Rookie experience in Modena even more memorable. Cash for Trick Session under floodlights, unmissable visit at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello and the big Skipass final party.

To make the event even more special, 24 invited riders will participate for free, included accommodation for 2 nights (29-30 October), entry fee and fair tickets. Every national team has 3 “all-inclusive” spots for the riders. Coaches and families are welcome with special hotel offers and Skipass fair ticket for free.

For those who come by airplane, pick-up service will be available from Bologna airport or from train station "Reggio Emilia Medio Padana".

For more information about event, registration and booking please contact Matteo Fregni at rookie@worldsnowboardfederation.org or 0039.059.9783397

Registration and accommodation:Black Yeti offers entry fee, entry ticket for the Skipass fair, accommodation for 2 nights (check in Saturday 29 October – check out Monday 31 October) until reaching 24 athletes. Each WSF national snowboard association will have 3 all inclusive free sport. To all riders and coaches registration fees and fair tickets are free. Riders, coaches and families will be hosted in the same hotel. Special hotel rates are available for coaches and families (approx. 40€/night).

For national teams who want to participate with more than 3 athletes, information will be announced later (registration fee and fair entry tickets will be free, special rate for hotel).

If you dream to become a professional snowboarder,then your future starts from Rookie Fest!

The WSF World Rookie Tour is organized by the Black Yeti ssrl in collaboration with World Snowboard Federation and its National Snowboard Associations, and it is made possible by Red Bull. You can follow the World Rookie Tour on our international media partners Onboard European Snowboard magazine and Pleasure Snowboard Magazine.

ABOUT THE WORLD SNOWBOARD FEDERATIONThe World Snowboard Federation (WSF) is the international organization exclusively working to develop the sport of snowboarding at all levels. Program areas include: competitions, Para-Snowboard, judge and shapers, education and certification, and snowboard activities for riders of every age. The WSF represents a network of National Snowboard Associations (NSAs) who work together at a worldwide level to promote the development of snowboarding. NSA members can find a source of inspiration and support from the WSF for the activities they are conducting within their nation and by working towards the same goal: progression of snowboarding from the ground up. The WSF collaborates with the TTR Pro Snowboarding, the owner and operator of the TTR World Snowboard Tour and the TTR World Ranking System. Through this collaboration and coordination of events at the TTR World Snowboard Tour, The WSF and the TTR want to create an environment that fosters the development of competitive snowboarding. In February 2012, the WSF and the TTR hosted the inaugural World Snowboarding Championships in Oslo, Norway, an elite level event to be held every four years in alternating cities around the world. Official website: worldsnowboardfederation.org.

About TTR Pro Snowboarding & World Snowboard TourTTR Pro Snowboarding is a non-profit organization that oversees a professional network of events and athletes. Our objective is to develop and showcase the sport of snowboarding through the World Snowboard Tour, while facilitating a fair and open competition environment that includes innovative judging and ranking systems. We encourage riders to develop from rookies into world-class athletes through a 6 Star level rating system; which will be replaced by a new 4-tiered structure from October 2014. Under the new World Snowboard Tour 2.0, the 4-tiered structure will encompass Elite, International, National, and Regional event levels. Elite events will comprise the WST Pro Series (current working title). The Regional, National, and International levels of the WST 2.0 will make up the WST Qualifying Series (working title).

The Freeride community has experienced a tremendous loss today as we learned that one of the most hopeful young talents and current snowboard World Champion, Estelle Balet, has tragically passed away in an avalanche. The mortal avalanche occurred earlier this morning in the canton of Valais.

Estelle Balet was a naturally gifted shining star and demonstrated remarkable talent as she quickly became a household name on the Freeride World Tour, bringing home her second title as World Champion just a few weeks ago in Verbier.

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Estelle Balet as we send our deepest sympathy and condolences during this very difficult time.

COMPETITORS REVEL IN AMAZING BLUBIRD POWDER CONDITIONS AT THE SECOND STOP OF THE 2016 SWATCH FREERIDE WORLD TOUR IN CHAMONIX-MONT-BLANC

Near perfect conditions allowed riders to take full advantage of the amazing terrain in the legendary freeride mecca.

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France – February 5, 2016 – There was a mystical atmosphere today in Flégère ski area as the clouds parted an unveiled the snow-capped peaks of one of Europe’s most legendary freeride venues. Riders in each of the four divisions, male and female, ski and snowboard, raised the bar for their respective sports and shook up the the overall rankings for the 2016 Swatch Freeride World Tour.

After a rocky start, this winter has been kind to Chamonix as heavy snows have blanked the magnificent peaks of the Aiguilles Rouge range in recent days. More snow fell than expected last night and riders were unexpectedly treated to between 50-100cm of fresh snow over the at the 2500m elevation level. Despite the heavy snowfall, some parts of the Alaska-like Aiguille Pourrie face still had some hard snow exposed due to wind, causing trouble for some riders.

SKI MEN

Overall ski men rankings were shook up today as top riders such as Jérémie Heitz (SUI) and George Rodney (USA) put all their eggs in one basket and lost their bets after crashing on big airs. Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA) took home his third victory in Chamonix with a powerful line featuring an impressive backflip. Young gun Logan Pehota (CAN) also fired some tricks after stomping an impressive line resulting in a second place finish. Fabio Studer (AUT) brought his new school style to the competition venue and impressed spectators with stylish spins, bringing him into third place.

SKI WOMEN

Eva Walkner (AUT) demonstrated her trademark powerful and technical skiing to once again bring home a victory at Chamonix for the former world champ. The talented Silvia Moser (ITA) set the bar high with two massive airs that she took larger and more stylishly than any riders – male or female. The desire to win was evident in Matilda Rappaport (SWE) as she skied with incredible authority and very smooth style which earned her a third place finish.

SNOWBOARD MEN

The North American snowboarders swept the podium with the reigning champ Sammy Leubke (USA) throwing down a huge line with two massive 360s to take first place. Following closely into second place, Jamie Rizzuto (CAN) made extremely quick work of the face, terminating his hard-charging line with a massive air. Veteran shredder Ralph Backstrom (USA) took a creative line and found perfect transition on the featured face, putting him in third place.

SNOWBOARD WOMEN

The female snowboarder field stepped it over the last stop in Vallnord-Arcalis, Andorra. Anne-Flore Marxer (SUI-FRA) didn’t hold anything back out of the gate as her hard-charging line brought her into the top position on the podium as she made her way down to the finish with maximum speed. The current leader and world champion Estelle Balet (SUI) took a beautiful line in excellent snow with a sizeable cliff but was not able to retain the top spot on the podium, resulting in second place. Rookie Marion Haetry (FRA) didn’t demonstrate any lack of experience as she was able to negotiate a very technical line with very little hesitation, scoring her a third place finish.

STAY TUNED AS RIDERS PREPARE FOR THE THIRD STOP OF THE SWATCH FREERIDE WORLD TOUR IN FIEBERBRUNN KITZBUHELER ALPEN, AUSTRIA ON MARCH 6, 2016.

The next stop on the 2016 Swatch Freeride World Tour is coming up in a just a few weeks but in the mean time check out the Freeride Junior Tour by DaKine Chamonix event tomorrow, February 6. If you missed any of today’s action, you can check out the replay at www.freerideworldtour.com and share your favorite moment on social media thanks to the new tagging system.

THE 2016 WINNERS OF THE FREERIDE JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (FJWC) IN GRANDVALIRA, ANDORRA EXEMPLIFY THE FINEST JUNIOR FREERIDING IN THE WORLD

The four new junior world champions crowned at the FJWC in Grandvalira have truly raised the bar for the sport and offered a glimpse at the aspiring next generation of top-level athletes.

Grandvalira, January 30, 2016 – Their age might described as “junior” but their skills certainly are not. Today’s competition on the Tossa de Caraup face is a true testimony of the future of the sport of freeride. Skiers and snowboarders, men and women both raised the bar for their respective sports in the only worldwide freeride junior championship competition.

Athletes from as far as the United States, New Zealand, and Mexico, representing over ten countries, descended on the Andorran freeride mecca to show spectators just what they have to throw down to push the sport’s limits. Beyond the top-notch skiing, the young vibes and excellent attitudes of the riders have demonstrated the type of comradery that pushes the growing sport in a positive direction.

After a dawn hike to the venue finish line, riders were ferried the last stretch to the summit with a short heli ride where they scoped the competition face offering a plethora of options for creative line choices and a multitude of airs. Weather conditions were nearly optimal, providing the young riders with clear skies and soft, spring snow. The competition face topped out at 2660m and offered just over 300 vertical meters of featured terrain at an average of 35° for the young competitors to test their skills.

Ski Men

It was truly a privilege to witness such an impressive level of riding in the ski men division. As the sun did its work on the face, airs and tricks complimented with full throttle skiing were the norm. Team Canada had an extremely strong showing with Jackson Bathgate (CAN) taking the top of the podium with a powerful run featuring big airs as well as stomped spins with his compatriot Nigel Zilgler (CAN) taking second place with another strong run with stylish big airs. Xander Guldman (USA) took third place with an extremely technical line highlighted by a massive backflip.

Ski Women

The ski women were able to take advantage of slightly softer snow conditions to put on an impressive show. Synnøve Medhus (NOR) was able to earn the top score with a run demonstrating her ability to stomp a multitude of airs. Olivia Askew (USA) took second place by taking a creative line on the right side of the venue with finesse and confident airs. Perhaps the most stylish women’s line of the day can be claimed by Illona Carlod (FRA) whose clean and tight style put her in third place.

Snowboard Men

It’s always a pleasure to see the hometown hero take first place and that’s exactly what spectators were treated to when they watched Josep Maria Naudi Descarrega (AND) raise the bar much higher than any of the other riders with a solidly stomped run featuring massive airs on the skiers right of the venue. Loïc Aubert (SUI) followed in a distant second with solid riding and a few grabs, bringing him just in front of Finn Duffy’s (NZL) playful run with plentiful smaller airs.

Snowboard Women

The snowboard women held their own with promising young Jazmine Erta (ITA) stomping the most solid run with some airs to earn her first place. Fiona Torello was able to link up a line with a few airs and excellent line choice to place her just slightly above Gaëlle Melet (SUI).

The quality of riding today is once again an indication of the extensive grassroots support freeride benefits from with the multitude of coaching programs and clubs that have helped develop these young riders’ skills. It is interesting witness the progression of skills coming to fruition as the first generation of riders to grow up with the prospect of competing on the legendary Freeride World Tour finally come of age.

The big mountain showdown between Europe and the Americas is confirmed for tomorrow Saturday, January 30.

Grandvalira, Andorra – January 29, 2016 - Riders from the Old Continent and the New World have assembled to represent the best of the best in ski talent for the most anticipated and innovative event in the sport. The beautifully featured terrain of the Andorran resort of Grandvalira will be hosting the 2016 edition of event this year for the first time.

The first competition day will allow the wide variety of talent to demonstrate their finest skills on the world stage and represent their respective continents. The big mountain event will pit freeride athletes against each other on technically exciting terrain with a multitude of cliffs and engaging couloirs. Freestyle skiers will get to express their skills on in the backcountry slopestyle event where riders will throw down their biggest and best tricks on specially crafted jumps.

Each captain has meticulously selected his team’s roster of riders to ensure their continent’s best chance of winning the showdown. A total of 16 riders, eight for each continent, will compete in two different rounds to attempt to bring victory home to their continent.

Due to injuries, Captain Richard Permin (FRA) has been exchanged for compatriot and Freeride World Tour top big mountain rider Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA). Legendary American crossover rider Sage Cattabriga-Alosa (USA) will captain his team against Collomb-Patton’s Europe. Each rider will face a competitor from the opposing team and the winner of each face-off will earn a point for their respective team. The team with the most overall points will be crowned winner.

RIDERS CHART

The opening ceremony of the showdown kicked off today in the event village at 5 PM in Grandvalira where riders participated in the heat draw that determined their face-off match.

Difficult weather prevented the snow on the competition face from coming into safe rideable condition.

Grandvalira, January 26, 2016 – After two days of perfect spring snow conditions, a chilly breeze combined with high clouds and an obscured sun were present this morning on the Tossa de Caraup face in Grandvalira, Andorra – the site of the 2016 edition of the FJWC. The fifty-nine young riders representing fifteen countries remained positive as forerunners Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA) FWT 2014 World Champion and Joaquin Vena (ARG) FWQ competitor, descended very hard snow which was not able to sufficiently soften due to the high clouds and breezy conditions on the face.

For safety reasons, officials at Grandvalira, event organizers, and judges have decided to postpone the competition until Saturday, January 30, where more promising meteorological conditions may allow for safer and softer snow conditions on the competition face for the young riders.

Vallnord-Arcalís, Andorra – January 22, 2016 – The 2016 edition is the second time the SWATCH FREERIDE WORLD TOUR makes its appearance in Vallnord-Arcalís. 61 male and female professional riders across two disciplines have made the trip to Andorra for the first out of five stops on this world championship tour.Riders and spectators alike were treated to blue skies and some high clouds with excellent riding conditions in the Andorran resort. After a relatively dry start, a recent storm dumped enough snow on the fantastically featured peaks of this ski resort that is quickly becoming the most important freeride destination in the Pyrenees mountains.

Riders made their way to Basser Negre zone after a short climb from the Basera chairlift. The terraced and feature-dense Coste Negre face offered riders a combination of tight couloirs along with clean run-outs and a multitude of options for taking big air. From its summit at 2680m, the competition face measures nearly 400m vertical meters at 40° allowing competitors ample opportunity to get creative as they make their way towards the finish line.After the building anticipation of the summer months, riders were finally able throw down their best lines for the first time this season. While shady aspects harbored excellent riding conditions, the sun-kissed aspects offered a bit more of a challenge for riders as conditions were less consistent on these faces.***

Sascha Hamm Winner

Snowboard Men

It was tough to keep an eye on Londoner Sascha Hamm (GBR) as he hammered a powerful line with big airs right off the summit to take the top spot. Christoffer Granbom (SWE) followed suite with a powerful run and airs that showed mastery of the difficult conditions bringing him into second place. Young Chamoniard Camille Armand (FRA) came in third with a strong run that featured a smoothly stomped backflip mid-venue.

ESTELLE BALET

Snowboard Women

Reigning champ Estelle Balet (SUI) once again took the top spot as her creative line choice demonstrated this young rider’s experienced skillset. Marion Haetry (FRA) took an impressive line in the same zone as Sascha Hamm, but unfortunately had some loose riding near the finish that pushed her into the second place. Mikaela Hollsten (FIN) held a strong run together that nudged former Olympian Kjersti Buaas (NOR) off the podium.

Jaclyn Paaso USA Winner

Ski Women

Jaclyn Paaso (USA) always sends it big and today was no exception. With some huge airs up high on the venue, Passo was able to once again emerge victorious in today’s event. Former champion Eva Walkner (AUT) put together a solid run skiing a creative line on the skier’s left of the venue for a second place finish. Third on the podium was rookie Evelina Nilsson (SWE) who demonstrated excellent control and solid riding.

Ski Men

The level of competition was incredibly high today as riders were able to combine creative freestyle tricks with full-throttle runs. Jérémie Heitz (SUI) had a screaming fast run but once again saw the first place spot slip away as Kirstoffer Turdell (SWE) hammered an incredibly impressive line down the face with a huge air, taking the top spot. With a risky but technically difficult line with big airs, Ivan Malahkov came in very close behind Heitz. Unfortunately, local favorite Dani Fornell-Prat (AND) sustained a leg injury along with Kiwi crusher Sam Smoothy (NZL).

This weekend more than 100 riders from 11 countries rocked the banked course at the 100% natural snow area LIVINGROOM Hochkönig in Mühlbach, Salzburg, Austria. This main event crowend the Vintage Snowboard Days weekend with our star guest Jeff Brushie from the United States, open doors at the Snowboardmuseum and a live concert!

On Friday vintage snowboard collectors and passionate banked riders met at LIVINGROOM Hochkönig to check out the banked slalom course and see the snowboard museum at Hochkeilhaus. Although the race started early the next day most riders stayed long at the bar to chat with Jeff Brushie wo still suffered a little jetlag.

On Saturday morning more and more snowboarders arrived at the Arthurhaus lift were the LIVINGROOM banked course was waiting to be raced. Although there was not too much snow and the area runs with natural snow only the bankes starting in the forrest then entering the snowpark were smooth and rideable for everyone – from kids to pros. 107 riders from Austria, Germany, Swizerland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, the United States and Finland came to enjoy the Hochkönig area.

As the main prices were given tot he riders who come closest to the average time most racers enjoyed the competition without feeling too much preasure. Nevertheless some riders went big time. Hans Jörg Unterrainer former olympic snowboardcross racer from Austria took the best time in front of another Austrian Norbert Pitzer and US X Games competitor Jonathan Cheever.

The ladies banked was won the second time in a row by Kathrin Gappmayr from Austria in front of Xenia Klackl from Austria and Ana Kecek from Slovenia. Those riders enter he WSF Banked Tour raffle for a starting place at the Legendary Mount Baker Banked.The fastest kids were Tobi Grünwald and Valerie Hammerschmid both from Germany.

Closest to the average time in mens category came Maik Friese from Germany, at the ladies category Lisa Bunschoten from the Netherlands para team came closest and the „most average“ kid was Max Kuehnhauser from Germany. All those riders got brand new Goodboards snowboards.

In the evening the local punk band „7 Dials Mystery“ rocked the crowd at Hochkeilhaus. So on Sunday morning only the core riders made it to the pist to enjoy some more turns. Afterwards vintage boards were traded at the swap meeting and Jeff Brushie signed quite a lot of decks before starting his long way home.

The LIVINGROOM Hochkönig crew was proud to offer a handmade banked course and thanks all supporters: Hochkönig, Goodboards, Pogo Snowboards, Hochkeilhaus and Arthurhaus.

TWO CONTINTENTS, ONE BATTLE – THE MORA BANC SKIERS CUP GRANDVALIRA IS DROPPING ON JANUARY 30, 2016

The date for the most innovative and exciting contest in freeskiing is just around the corner, and the snow is stacking up and conditions are improving for the epic showdown between Europe and the Americas.

Lausanne, Switzerland – January 12, 2016 – In less than three weeks the most talented riders in the world will assemble in Southern Europe’s largest ski resort: Grandvalira, Andorra. Nestled between Spain and France, this hidden freeride haven is going to set the stage for the battle between Richard Permin’s Europe and Sage Catabriga-Alosa’s Americas. The two continents will have to demonstrate they have the riders and the skills to prevail in two contrasting disciplines: backcountry slopestyle (jumps and tricks) and big mountain (freeride).

The action is easy to follow as riders will have a six-day weather window between January 30, and February 4, to throw down on the two days with the most optimal weather and conditions. Spectators will have a chance to watch the best skiers in the world hit huge airs in the crowd-pleasing backcountry slopestyle event. After the action, riders and spectators alike will be able to hang out in the official Skiers Cup event village in Grandvalira from Friday, January 29 to Sunday, January 31.

Riders will be judged in pairs over the two competition days and after each match-up, a winner will be announced immediately and the winning continent will score a point. The judging panel is composed of three Judges; freeskiing legend Philou Poirier (CAN), French freeskiing master Arnaud Rougier, and big mountain crusher Sam Smoothy (NZL) as a neutral judge. The action will be easy to follow and the competitive spirit will be alive in this legendary event. The continent with the most points at the end of the two competition days will be victorious.

Meet the Shaper

Arnaud Kugener from France is back for his third year as the official Skiers Cup shaper. Kugener has the magical ability to turn natural features into a playground for freeskiers. Kugener knows how to transform any snow or mountain feature into an epic backcountry slopestyle course where anything is possible.

The Judges

Who has the expertise to judge such a unique contest where each riders brings their individual style and talent to the table? None other than the finest in the game: Kiwi FWT legend and big mountain expert Sam Smoothy, Freeskiing godfather Philou Poirier (CAN), and French freesking staple Arnaud Rougier. Each one of these judges hails from one of two continents and Smoothy will complete the circle as the neutral judge.

Don’t miss the opening ceremony and bib draw in the event village on Friday, January 29! Come be a part of history and witness the finest riding in the most unique completion format on the planet!

Tune into the action live webcast on www.skierscup.com to watch the finest day of live competition and to track the real-time results of each face-off with live scoring.

WSF PRO WOMEN is an event made for women of all ages who want to connect with other female shredders in their local community and improve their riding skills while guided from a pro. Bringing together local female pro riders and resorts at their facilities opens up possibilities to host camps and clinics tailored to women and girls.

“We see this initiative as a significant step to highlight Women in Snowboarding, at the right time and with the right advocates.” comments the Education Committee of the WSF, who signs responsible for the project realization.

Germany, Norway, Austria, China, Swizterland, Canada, Croatia and Scotland all voiced their support, and as soon as Snowboard Associations and their crews have confirmed more dates and locations, they will be published.

Lausanne, Switzerland – June 25, 2015 – Freeride World Tour (FWT) is pleased to announce that Peak Performance is the new skiwear sponsor of the FWT. This exciting collaboration is an important development for freeriding around the globe.

Founded by two skiers in Åre, Sweden in 1986, Peak Performance started as an organic process of creating personal gear with a cutting edge design philosophy marrying function with fashion. The brand quickly exploded, eclipsing expectations and becoming synonymous with life and culture: a special place where passion and a love of sports and nature intersect to drive product development and company culture. Today Peak Performance creates innovative products that span outdoor lifestyle needs while staying true to the authentic culture that is the foundation of the brand.

The Freeride World Tour shares this passion and authenticity. Founded in 1996 by Nicolas Hale-Woods (SUI), the first event was held on Verbier’s legendary Bec des Rosses and marked a radical departure from traditional snowboarding and skiing events. In the two decades since, the FWT has become the global tour for competitive freeride skiing and snowboarding, featuring the best athletes on the planet in some of the most challenging and beautiful mountains in the world. Despite this growth Verbier and the Bec remain the final stop on the tour, a touchstone to tradition and a testament to the visionary nature of that first competition.

"We are very proud to be part of the Freeride World Tour,” says Nicolas Warchalowski (SWE), CEO Peak Performance. “It has grown into an event of global importance, and it presents our core activity in the most thrilling and challenging way possible, in absolute stunning environments. You can easily follow the action, either on site or via live stream, and the way it is presented stimulates all the senses that come along with freeriding at this level. Peak Performance makes, and has always made, products aimed for this type of skiing, so now is the time to collaborate with a global sports event that has credibility and that offers great excitement. I very much look forward to the upcoming season!"

"Freeride World Tour (FWT) is proud to announce that Peak Performance is joining the FWT Partners group,” adds Nicolas Hale-Woods (SUI), General Manager of the FWT. “Peak Performance is one of the few core brands of our sport. Their brand, products and athletes have inspired generations of riders. Peak Performance is succeeding The North Face® as FWT outerwear and sportswear partner. I’d like to thank The North Face® for three years of excellent collaboration that enabled the Freeride World Tour to step-up the quality of events, webcasts and services for riders and fans around the world. We can’t wait for next winter!”

Hazel Josie Birnbaum (USA) and Aurelien Ducroz (FRA) took the wins in skiing, resulting in George Rodney (USA) taking the Champion title in men's skiing.Nicola Thost (GER) and Jonathan Charlet (FRA) won in snowboard, resulting in Estelle Balet (SUI) and Jonathan Charlet (FRA) winning the Champion titles in their respective categories.

Verbier, Switzerland - March 28, 2015 – As the final event of the Freeride World Tour, the Xtreme Verbier is not only a prestigious contest in itself. It also decides the faith of the contenders for the World Champion title of the year. While in the women's skiing category, Eva Walkner (AUT) was untouchable already after the latest stage held in Haines, Alaska less than a week ago, a lot was on the line today in the other categories.

Today's battle for the FWT titles took place on the mythical 3222m (10570 ft) Bec des Rosses, all while celebrating 20 years of Xtreme. The much respected north face that has provided the stage for the Xtreme Verbier for twenty years, showed a new challenging side, being dressed in a lighter snow cover this year.

Men's Ski

In men's skiing experience beat audacity. Not in the sense of conservatism but in the ability to spot the winning lines.Aurelien Ducroz (FRA) who has already won three times on this face and who was competing on an honorary wildcard did not let his fans down. He opened the men's skiing with a spectacular line below the highest start that set the expectations of both the judges and the crowd as to the awesomeness needed for a podium. He has now set his print in the history books as the only skier to have won the Xtreme Verbier 4 times with a score of 88.50. "I'm just really pleased - a 4th victory for the 20th anniversary of the Xtreme! I have so much love for this face. I really feel good here," Aurelien said emotionally. "I almost changed my line last minute and then with Reine we motivated each other and I went ahead with it. I'm so happy I don't know what to say..."Just behind Aurelien with a score of 88.12 was another skier who has experience written all over him. Reine Barkered (SWE) went a little slower into the same line as Aurelien but quickly picked up the pace in this line leading to an enormous cliff that he landed perfectly in the exposed area, making it possible for him to take immediate control of the acceleration despite the very steep part of the face. Another A-run from the stomp master that he ended shooting down over the apron at the bottom.

The skier in the golden bib, George Rodney (USA) had quite a comfortable position to reach out for the World Champion title getting into today's contest. All he needed to be untouchable was a 5th place. He knew that he couldn't just play it safe though, especially having Jeremie Heitz (SUI) in his heels, hungry for a win on home turf. George laid out with a big top air getting straight into the game and skied fast and strong down a technical line for a 3rd place finish and a score of 87.75, bringing the rookie the World Champion title after a a very tight top of the field to day and a fantastic season on the FWT.« Pretty much speechless. My dream came true today – and a lot of hard work that I've put in, has finally paid off, » said an obviously moved new World Champion. « It's just so cool – I'm stoked - First time on tour, first time here, first win in Alaska – it's a season of firsts!

Photo J.Bernard Freeridetour.com

Men's Snowboard

In the men's snowboard category the battle was very tight and a podium result today was crucial to anybody contending to grab the title. The situation translated directly into what will probably be remembered as one of the most diverse and next-level snowboard freeride event of all times. As if paying tribute to the Bec des Rosses and its greatness and surprises, the riders incessantly showed new interpretations of the face, making for the supreme showcase of what is possible on a snowboard.

Jonathan Charlet (FRA) had the chance of taking over Sammy Luebke (USA) in the overall if he won today's event – provided that the super smooth American rider didn't finish second. Jonathan stepped up to the challenge and delivered a mind-blowing run, perfectly mixing playfulness into his trademark big mountain style of riding, ending it up flying down the apron in what could have been the forerun for wingsuit pilot, Geraldine Fasnacht (SUI).An incredible score of 91.00 set Jonathan straight to the top. "I'm super stoked! Everything was just great. I realized a run without any pressure – extraordinary! Long live the Argentois," the new World Champion said with a salute to his hometown.

Jonathan can thank the - as of today - former World Champion, Emilien Badoux (SUI) for taking care of the rest needed to secure the title. Emilien has been out with injury all season, but he showed that he is more than just back in the game. He rode an amazing line where he used the big middle feature below start number 2 as a transfer over to a no-fall zone with a huge triple that no-one else had spotted so far. Stomping 1-2-3 he was completely in sync with her Majesty the 'Bec' earning him 85.75. This put him in front of Sammy who had chosen a third approach. He laid out with the cliff right below start number 1 giving him VIP entrance into the more open patch, finally setting himself up for a very technical finish with two big drops in the fall line earning him a score of 82.75. Good for a 3rd place in this great celebration of 20 years of snowboard on the 'Bec' - yet just 30 ranking points away from the title.

Not on the podium but definitely deserving to be mentioned was the absolute veteran (19 out of 20 possible starts on the Bec des Rosses), Steve Klassen (USA). And what a classy rider! Staying right on top of his game for 19 years, taking features of all shapes and sizes all the way to the very bottom of the face like a certain pink rabbit with excellent batteries.

Women's Ski

The women's ski podium provided everything from bold and ballsy lines, executed whole heartedly and to perfection by the young Hazel Birnbaum (USA) to the experience-driven line choice of Christine Hargin (SWE). In between was the creativity of the young rookie Silvia Moser (ITA).

The battle for the title was already won by Eva Walkner (AUT) this Monday in Haines, Alaska. Today she had to give in to the classic release of pressure after such a big accomplishment, but hungry hearts were more than ready to step in.Hazel had spotted the winning line, and the way she rode it got the crowds screaming in excitement twice! First when she stomped an exposed double up top and second after another big double on the bottom. She scored 88.00 standing out as the only woman scoring in the 80es."As my rookie year I feel like I learned a lot and I got to be inspired by a lot of incredible women that I've looked up to for so many years, so it's an incredible privilege and an honor to even be part of this event. I'm beyond ecstatic!" Hazel expressed after realizing her outstanding performance.

Fresh off a win in Alaska, Silvia Moser picked an original line all the way out the skier's left of the face and with a committed run lining up feature after feature, she scored 76.25 and took 2nd place.

Christine Hargin showed her experience in knowing exactly how far to take the risk aspect for putting down a solid run evolving around two main features and good speed. The 2012 World Champion could thus walk away with a strong finish to the season and a 3rd place with a score of 72.75.

Women's Snowboard

Wildcard and former Olympic Champion, Nicola Thost (GER) showed that she has ridden off any wildcard intimidation and re-found her freedom to flow. She set herself apart today, with a score of 71.00 - 16 points more than number two!"My plan for today worked out really well. It was a perfect day, and I knew from the beginning that I would have a lot of fun. It was super fun to ride this mountain and I'm absolutely stoked I could take the win," the winner said afterwards. "The snow conditions were fine, and it's just awesome to win Verbier. There's really a positive vibe going on at this event, and this helps a lot to have fun and stay focussed at the same time."The battle for the title in the women's snowboard category was between Shannan Yates (USA) and Estelle Balet (SUI).

Photo J.Bernard - Estelle Balet

While Shannan caught up with Estelle in Alaska, Estelle knew how to use her home advantage in Verbier. Opening the contest in the line that Nicola also chose, unfortunately some slough lead her to a minor stop in the flow, but the difficulty of her airs were enough to give her the 2nd place today with a score of 55.00.Shannan tried to make the difference with a technical line on riders' left which allowed her to keep a good flow but without the same difficulty of features. Enough though to squeeze in on the podium just one quarter of a point ahead of Anne-Flore Marxer (SUI/FRA) with a score of 52.25.

22 artists graced the second edition of Snowfest Festival which took place on 13th and 14th February on the "Plac Niepodleglosci" square in the heart of Zakopane. During the "Best Trick of Festival" fans could admire 30 best Polish freeskiers and snowboarders, and also athletes from Czech Republik, Slovakia, UK and Switzerland. Snowfest festival attracted over 2500 participans. About 1000 people took part in Afterparty.

Friday was the first day of the festival. At the beginning people were hypnotized by hopes of Polish Electronic music: "XxanaxX" "Cosovel" and "Rysy" band. Part of participans chose to get a discount for a pass and went to ride on Kasprowy Wierch and Gubałówka hill, because the weather was gorgeous. Despite the fact that some people came for festival a bit later, the musicians performed for "hundret percent" creating incredible atmosphere from the early afternoon. The spherical tent specially arranged for MINI Disco already from 3 P.M was filled with outstanding music played by top Polish DJ's .

"Completely under estimated Poland, what a beautiful contry. Lots of fun in the snow" – Greg, Roberts, Dreadzone.

During the break between the concerts, the audience was taken by freeskiers and snowboarders who were preparing for the saturday " Best Trick of Festival". The competitors were facing the 7 – meter gap over „Gen. Galicy" street.. Riders were approaching the kicker from a huge ramp, jumping over the crowds heads into a landing on the top of the „Independence Square". After stomping first trick they were turning around on a special wall ride and going for the rail section which was placed on the stairs. The construction of the jump was coordinated by „Wolakbros" family. Together with architects such as freeski rider Sebastian Litner, who visualized sports infrastructure, and Janek Słowik, who calculated the capacity – they were responsible for the project. For dessert, after the trainings, right after 9 P.M, we had pleasure to hear "Fisz Emade" with "Tworzywo" band.

"What a great time we had. Thank you Poland" – Mc Spee, Dreadzone

On saturday the whole event was reported live by Polish Radio "Czwórka". This day was owned by British legends of club scene and freestyle riders. The emotions reached sky during the final round of competitions and performance of the legendary Dub Pistols group. The first performing band on the main stage was W.E.N.A. with Electro-Acoustic Beat Session. The artists appeared on stage thanks to Redbull Polska cooperation. Right after concert the audience moved closer to the Slope Style course to watch the breathtaking eliminations to the final.

"I have no idea what next year edition of Snowfest will bring, but one thing is for sure, I can't wait!!!" – Edward Castle Henry – winner of the Best Style award

Before the finals the crowd was hypnotyzed by the London soundsystem "Dreadzone" with Mc "Spee" as a main man together with the founder of the band "Greg" behind the console. First dub sounds went from the massive speakers right after 7:30 P.M and in a blink of an eye stolen everybody's heart. People were under great impression of the huge experience of the band! Finally it was a time for the finals! The "Best Trick of Festival" was part of the "Ticket To Ride", the most famous World Snowboard Tour. That's why the competitions were very prestige and the performance outstanding. Only 20 riders got into the finlas. The biggest applause was for flips, 720 spins with stylish grabs and also hard rail tricks. One of the most remarkable things we had witness, was synchronized jump of 3 riders in the same time! The atmosphere was taken to the next level also by the speakers! Among them: snowboard judge Maciej Heczko, Tv star Jacek Kaczynski and the main author of the sport event Jan Kanty Wolak – from famous Wolakbros snowboard family. The first place in Freeski took 22-years old Robert Szul, second Hubert Zieliński and third Bartek Syska. In Snowboard the winner was Nikodem Franczak, second Mateusz Zielonka and third Jakub Jamaj. All these guys got very nice prizes from: Big O Snowboards, Majesty Skis, White Pine, Palto, PKL and Wolakbros.

"Great time in Poland big up to Dreadzones MC Spee for joining us on stage for a couple of tracks" – Barry Ashworth, the lider of Dub Pistols

Right after competitions the time came for the final koncert of the main star of Snowfest. Dub Pistols from the very first song took over the public! The famous "I'm in love" or "The problem is" songs were not missing! The whole band was enjoying themselves very much while performing on a scene. Dub Pistols were killing it, there is no doubt they have stolen every single heart of the audience! The energy and love was in the air! Snowfest was closed by epic afterparty in Dworzec Tatrzanski. Those who came there without standing in a queue can be consider as a very lucky people!

Obereggen hosted the last stop of the 2015 Rookie Tour Italy, the most important tour for the italian snowboarders under 18. After Cervinia, Livigno and Monte Bondone, the Italian Rookie Finals crowned the Rookie Champions and the Grom Champions.

Every Champions, won the tickets for the prestigious Volkl World Rookie Finals 2015 that will take place in Ischgl, Austria!

Haines, Alaska - March 24, 2015 – The event in Haines, Alaska was a true show of freeride at its best. It was a nine day wait for the weather to play along but everyone seemed to know that it would be all worth it. The setting was like an Alaskan postcard with fresh powder under a clear blue sky and with a big glacier as a backdrop. Having shown great form all season, Eva Walkner (AUT) had a solid lead in women's skiing coming into the event. With four out of five results counting for the final ranking, and Eva counting one win and 2nd places in all the other events, she can now call herself World Champion no matter how she performs in Verbier. The suspense for the titles in the other categories is still intact as the Freeride World Tour moves into the final event.

The athletes delivered mind-blowing performances, whether fighting to grab the title or simply attempting to qualify for the last stage of the season in Verbier (SUI) on March 28. The conditions on the 740 vertical meters (2300 ft) competition face, The Venue, were close to perfect with knee deep, blower powder covering the characteristic long and impressive spines.

Credit David Carlier

Men's SnowboardThe men's snowboard category started the contest shortly after 9.15am (AKDT) (6.15pm CET).First out of the Swatch gate was Sammy Luebke (USA) and he certainly didn't throw away this incredible opportunity to open the new FWT Alaskan venue in style. With his usual smooth riding, he started out with a lot of speed pulling a double in the steepest part of the face. He managed to keep that level of action all the way down the face including a well executed 360 and another big feature. He put his competitors under pressure right away with a whopping score of 90.00, giving him the win in the end. "Everything lined up the way I thought. I'm excited to go to Verbier!" Sammy summed up his day at work.

Flo Orley (AUT) was last to go in the men's snowboard category and he confirmed that he is on fire this season with an all-out, perfectly ridden line including the biggest fly of the day in his category charging out over the rollover leading into the steep bottom section. He took 2nd place scoring 87.00, thus removing the chances of Jonathan Charlet (FRA) to make an early claim at the FWT title at this event.The 3rd podium place went to Colin Boyd (USA) who was also on track to challenge Sammy until a small loss of control after a 360 took his score one notch down to 82.00

Men's SkiThe skier in the golden bib, George Rodney (USA) was charging this face like there was no tomorrow, using his floating features to reposition himself so as to keep the control without ever having to turn his skis more than 45 degrees to the fall line despite the sustained extreme pitch of this face. His gutsy run earned him a score of 87.75 and his second win of the season though this was a completely different animal than the more closed face in Andorra. One of the highlights of his run was his fast reaction of pointing everything in the fall line in the steepest part of the face to save an imbalance – a very counter-intuitive move in such terrain that shows the level of mastery of this young rider. "I can't believe it - that was the coolest run I've ever done in my life," he said at the bottom. "It's the best face I've been on. It is like two venues."

Jérémie Heitz (SUI) put anyone believing that he would actually slow down his usual Mach 3 skiing style here on The Venue in Haines to shame. Despite the many blind parts on this double roll-over face he sent it directly, aggressively and with perfect fluidity, putting his more difficult airs in at the top and then focusing on speed like no other rider. This tactic put him in 2nd place with score of 81.00.Close behind and in 3rd place was Kevin Guri (FRA) who scored 80.00 with a high paced run including an impressive cliff band.

Credit David Carlier

Women's SkiThe women skiers really put everything out there to qualify for Verbier resulting in three DNFs. Silvia Moser (ITA) made the run of her season and took her first FWT victory with a score 84.00. She chose a very technical top section with a steep double and then opted for shoot with no tracks at the bottom."I had a very cool run, I had fun and did everything I wanted to do," the successful Tour rookie commented. "I am very happy. It is the best run of the winter so far."The woman of the day was Eva Walkner (AUT) who took her third 2nd place of the season with a very intelligent approach that demonstarted her knowledge of Alaskan conditions. She went for a technical line without gambling with speed yet got her features in as planned knowing exactly what was needed to secure her title before enjoying the powder on the more mellow part in the fresh snow to skiers right."I went for all the things that I had planned and did some of the best powder turns of my life. It was fun! She says about her run. Still needing to fully realize that she is actually the World Champion, she is just relieved that her struggles with injuries are behind her and that the hard work has paid off:"It was two years of hard work and coming back from injury and winning the title I have no words for it!"The 3rd place went to Francesca Ace Pavillard-Cain (USA) with a score 65.00. She put in some very nice features with good speed but some balance struggles in the landings cost her a few points.

Credit David Carlier

Women's SnowboardShannan Yates (USA) was in charge of keeping the battle for the title in this category open still. By winning here she closed in on Estelle Balet (SUI) who placed second. Both showed fast and fluid riding, but where Estelle took higher risks especially on speed, she paid by a bit of loss of control in the steepest section leaving her behind Shannan's 79.50 with a score of 75.00. Shannan was very happy with her run, having managed to pull out of some slough without breaking her flow too much."It feels amazing! I got to ride fantastic Alaskan powder. I had a small section of snow break on me but I was able to ride it out and it didn't phase me," said the happy winner. "I am so excited to be here in Alaska it is just a great, great event."Elodie Mouthon (FRA) opened up the central shoot and put in a strong finish, earning her the 3rd place with a score of 69.00.

Qualified for Xtreme VerbierThe top 12 ski men, 6 snowboard men, 6 ski women and 4 snowboard woman of the current ranking are qualified for Verbier, counting the best three results out of the four events so far. The FWT riders who made the cut and will be going to the 20th edition of the Xtreme Verbier are:

At this special 20th anniversary edition, the qualified 2015 FWT riders will be joined at the start by certain prestigious wild card riders such as the triple Xtreme Verbier winner, Aurelien Ducroz (FRA). Two other ski stars, best known from the world of alpine racing, will also be taking the start: Former Super G FIS World Champion and runner-up Downhill FIS World Champion – now turned freeskier - Daron Rahlves (USA), and the winner of the FIS Slalom World Cup in Kitzbuhel earlier this year, Mattias Hargin (SWE). Snowboard wildcards include five-time Xtreme Verbier snowboard winner, Steve Klassen (USA) and the evergreen, Xavier de le Rue (FRA) who has won the Xtreme four times. In the women's snowboard category, former Olympic Champion in halfpipe snowboard, Nicola Thost (GER) has also been awarded a wild card. The first possible competition day in Verbier is this coming Saturday the 28th of March, depending on the conditions.

The World Snowboard Federation together with TTR Pro Snowboarding officially announce that the 2016 World Championships of Snowboarding will take place from March 8th to March 16th 2016 in Yabuli, China.

About the World Championships of SnowboardingThe World Championships of Snowboarding will be held every four years and will host Halfpipe, Slopestyle and Big Air competitions to crown male and female world champions in each discipline. Big Air is not confirmed yet for Yabuli but remains under discussion. Athletes will be able to qualify for the World Championships of Snowboarding through the WSPL Quota and the WSF National Quota. Below is a complete breakdown of how riders will be able to qualify for the 2016 World Championships of Snowboarding beginning with competitor field size, moving on to minimum requirements for all riders and specific criteria, which will guarantee riders a spot to compete.

About Yabuli, ChinaYabuli is China´s largest and most famous ski resort.China is rapidly developing its reputation as an emerging winter sport powerhouse. China has presented the leading bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics („Beijing 2022"). Furthermore, China is on track to develop into one of the world's largest winter sport nations within the next 5 years, with an estimated US$10 billion to be invested into the Chinese winter sport market in the next 7 years. WCS 2016 will be the one of the first professional elite event in China across any of the snow sports, with major national and international reach.

Rider Field Sizes at the World Championships of SnowboardingThe World Championships of Snowboarding will have a maximum of 300 spots available for male and female athletes to compete across all disciplines. The estimated field sizes will be 70 riders for men in each discipline and 50 riders for women in each discipline. Big Air is still under discussion.

Minimum Requirements to QualifyIn order to participate in the World Championships of Snowboarding, riders will have to fulfill the following minimum requirement: ranked in the Men´s Top 250 or in the Women´s Top 125 on the respective WSPL (World Snowboarding Points List) discipline ranking.

WSPL Halfpipe includes all Halfpipe and Quarterpipe competitions globally and will rank riders who have competed at least once in the last 52 weeks prior to the cut-off date. WSPL Slopestyle includes all Slopestyle competitions globally and will rank riders who have competed at least once in the last 52 weeks.

A rider's position on the respective WSPL is determined by the average of his/her best three results for the WSPL Halfpipe and best four results for the WSPL Slopestyle over a rolling 52 week period. The cut-off date for qualification into the 2016 event will be Tuesday, December 15th, 2015.

QUALIFICATION CRITERIARiders can qualify for a spot to compete in the World Championships of Snowboarding through one of the following four criteria (minimum requirements have to be fulfilled).

• World Snowboarding Points List Quota (WSPL)Male riders ranked 50 or higher and female riders ranked 30 or higher, on the WSPL at the cut-off date in the respective discipline. The cut-off date for qualification into the 2016 event will be Thursday, December 15th, 2015.The Top50 Men and Top30 Women on the WSPL Halfpipe or Slopestyle at the announced cut-off date (15th December 2015) will be automatically eligible to compete in the respective discipline at the event.

• WSF Nations QuotaEach WSF member is entitled to qualify one rider for both men and women in each discipline. Therefore, each nation is entitled to a maximum of 4 spots and will need to use a national event, such as a national championships event, or national criteria approved by the WSF Event Committee, to qualify riders. NSA´s must submit their proposed criteria until latest Friday, December 19th , 2014. All national quota spots for the 2016 event must be announced by the National Snowboard Associations no later than Friday, December 15th, 2015. If one or several riders are already eligible to compete through one of the other qualification criteria, the open spot falls to the best national rider not yet qualified based on the defined national qualification criteria.

• TTR World Champions and Elite Level WinnersAll TTR World Tour Champions from the last three years (2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15) are eligible to compete in all disciplines at the World Championships of Snowboarding. All World Snowboard Tour Elite Level title winners from the last 52 weeks prior to 08.03.2015 are eligible to compete in the discipline in which they won the title.

• Local Organizing Committee Wild CardsThe organizing committee of the World Championships of Snowboarding is entitled to qualify two additional competitors in each discipline for men and women (eight total wild cards) who all need to be approved by TTR/WSF.

Registration ProcessRegistration for and entry into the World Championships of Snowboarding is free to all riders who meet the defined qualification criteria. All qualified riders are required to confirm their attendance no more than seven days after the qualification spots have been announced. Riders will be contacted individually via email to complete the registration process. The exact date of this deadline will be communicated at least four weeks before the cut-off date for qualification (15.12.2015). If a rider fails to confirm his/her attendance until the deadline, the rider will lose the right to compete at the event. Any open spots on the entry list may be given to alternates. The use of such open spots as wild cards or to enter alternate riders will be decided upon by WSF/TTR in conjunction with the local organizing committee of the the WCS.

Titles, Awards and Prize Money at the World Championships of SnowboardingRiders will be competing for male and female Halfpipe World Champion, Slopestyle World Champion titles and Big Air World Champion at the World Championships of Snowboarding. These World Champion titles will be awarded to the winning male and female rider in each discipline. In addition, all top three finishers in each discipline (first, second and third place finishers) will receive recognition in the form of a medal/trophy along with prize money.

"You are gonna have some fun in the pipe" – with this statement the Norwegian snowboard legend Terje Håkonsen set the motto for the weekend when he welcomed 41 young snowboarders from 8 countries to the first ever Oslo Rookie Fest at the Oslo Vinterpark.

In a jam, the Rookies and Groms battled for the podium spots, which qualify the young snowboarders to the upcoming World Rookie Finals 2015 in Ischgl, Austria.

Chase Blackwell, who came all the way from the USA, scored highest in a run with much style laying down a Bs Air, Fs 7 Indy to cab 7 Indy followed by a Fs 9 Melon, a Bs 5 Mute and a Chuckflip – and became best male rider of the Oslo Rookie Fest .

Besides the paid ticket to the World Rookie Finals, the riders recieved valuable prizes from the World Rookie Tour partner SP Gadgets.

The young snowboarders were happy enjoying to the opportunity to ride "one of the best Halfpipes" they had ever experienced. Besides the competition, the rookies learned how to make and process pics in the action sports photo workshop by Markus Fischer aka Fischi. At a snowskate session during the Oslo Vinter Festival, the Rookies were totally on fire ripping it up on the board without bindings.

A fourth edition kissed by good weather conditions and a new wave of young riders from all over the world, nothing better could be asked at snowpark Monte Bondone. The five-days of freestyle snowboarding kidnapped the heart of 85 little promises from 14 worldwide Countries.

The finals took place on the snow given over the last few days by a sky brighten up today, with no wind at all. So the freestylers could express themselves in tricks which brought to the podium 3 winners for each category. The Dutch went noticed during the quali already, but today the land of tulips and Flemish art crowded the podium: Erik Bastiaansen and Max De Vries earned the first two places among the Rookie Males, shooting generous rotations on the XL jump, such as Cab 900 Tail, Bs 900 and Switch Bs 720 melon, combined with a stylish jibbing sprinkled with 270 in and out, as well as Bs 180 in and Cab 360 out. Russia comes back with a third place, represented by Vlad Khadarin, with an admirable Best Run where tricks such as Fs Blunt to 270 out, Fs 900 indy and Switch Bs 900 tailtouch stand out. But the Dutch coloured also the steps of Rookie Females with the veteran Babs Barnhoorn, awarded first prize for the very clean rotations in her remarkable Bs 360 tailtouch and Fs 360 indy. Among the Groms we find again Switzerland with Rupp Elias, who amazed the crowd with his Fs 720 and Bs 720, while French Lucie Silvestre follows her Rookie colleague with less rotating but more refined tricks.

In the last two days the guys could get ready for this final day with a program both sporting and cultural, which brought them discovering Trento, on the steps of history and narration of the city from its fascinating historic centre to the Aviation Museum G. Caproni. With a serene atmosphere of international friendship, the competition made riders' real skills emerge in a constructive way.

The high number of Groms was an impressive element: 47 out of 85 participants were under 14, showing a powerful renewal among the new snowboarders. The World Rookie Tour writes once more a white page of international freestyle snowboard future.

A fourth edition kissed by good weather conditions and a new wave of young riders from all over the world, nothing better could be asked at snowpark Monte Bondone. The five-days of freestyle snowboarding kidnapped the heart of 85 little promises from 14 worldwide Countries.

The finals took place on the snow given over the last few days by a sky brighten up today, with no wind at all. So the freestylers could express themselves in tricks which brought to the podium 3 winners for each category. The Dutch went noticed during the quali already, but today the land of tulips and Flemish art crowded the podium: Erik Bastiaansen and Max De Vries earned the first two places among the Rookie Males, shooting generous rotations on the XL jump, such as Cab 900 Tail, Bs 900 and Switch Bs 720 melon, combined with a stylish jibbing sprinkled with 270 in and out, as well as Bs 180 in and Cab 360 out. Russia comes back with a third place, represented by Vlad Khadarin, with an admirable Best Run where tricks such as Fs Blunt to 270 out, Fs 900 indy and Switch Bs 900 tailtouch stand out. But the Dutch coloured also the steps of Rookie Females with the veteran Babs Barnhoorn, awarded first prize for the very clean rotations in her remarkable Bs 360 tailtouch and Fs 360 indy. Among the Groms we find again Switzerland with Rupp Elias, who amazed the crowd with his Fs 720 and Bs 720, while French Lucie Silvestre follows her Rookie colleague with less rotating but more refined tricks.

In the last two days the guys could get ready for this final day with a program both sporting and cultural, which brought them discovering Trento, on the steps of history and narration of the city from its fascinating historic centre to the Aviation Museum G. Caproni. With a serene atmosphere of international friendship, the competition made riders' real skills emerge in a constructive way.

The high number of Groms was an impressive element: 47 out of 85 participants were under 14, showing a powerful renewal among the new snowboarders. The World Rookie Tour writes once more a white page of international freestyle snowboard future.

The 4th edition of Trentino Rookie Fest starts: the international freestyle snowboard contest loved by all under 18 riders, this year has reached the highest number of participants from its very start in 2012. 85 snowboarders from 14 nations, from the icy Scandinavia to the glaciers in Patagonia, are now meeting up at Snowpark Monte Bondone in order to show everyone future pro riders' skills!

Five days and a new enriched program full of activities, not only sporting but also cultural, to allow the young travellers know the magical atmosphere featuring Trento. In line with the program, this morning the slopestyle trainings were carried out for the four categories: Grom Female, Grom Male, Rookie Female, Rookie Male. The agonistic level is fulfilling the expectations created during the previous stages of World Rookie Tour: with spectacular tricks, the guys are showing once more how freestyle snowboarding is going forward quickly. Among the ones who outstood today, the Dutch team deserves to a mention.

The competition at Trentino Rookie Fest is also focused on friendship, with the most fun Bob Race and Cash for Trick. The Bob Race is the speed contest for bobs rushing down the slopes of Monte Bondone, where the guys shivered while challenging the Black Yeti! With epic scenes and some rolling falls, riders gave their best also in a harder discipline than usual.The night was dedicated to the street top speciality of freestyle, with a format always appreciated by the participants. The Cash For Trick is a very special rail jam session, for every trick is € 5 valuable! Among the best tricks of the night 50-50 transfert 50-50 on the triple rail, 270-in back side lip, back side lip 270-out, all awarded by cash and gifts from the local sponsor 100-One Snowboard Shop.

Moreover this weekend the DC Trentino Kids Camp will be dedicated to who is not competing, from 6 to 16 years: 2-days freestyle snowboard lessons both for beginners and advanced. All during the finals of Trentino Rookie Fest: a unique opportunity to improve snowboarding level and watch the most famous youth freestyle contest worldwide!

The winners will earn prestigious awards: 2 all-inclusive tickets for the Volkl World Rookie Finals 2015 in Ischgl and 2 for the Trentino Rookie Fest 2016 in Monte Bondone, 2 tickets for the Rookie Shooting in Corvatsch at the end of the winter season, surf camp in Spain by Surftolive.com and many other prizes offered by the sponsors. All the athletes on the podium will be qualified for the Volkl World Rookie Finals 2015 and the event will give out points for the TTR Pro Snowboarding and for the World Rookie Rank.

Zermatt, Switzerland - February 26, 2015 – After enjoying powder and bluebird conditions for both the Backcountry Slopestyle and Big Mountain events, the 5th edition of the Swatch Skiers Cup was concluded today with Team Europe winning the famous Skiers Cup trophy. This brings the ongoing historic score of the event to 3-2 to Europe.

Just as it has always been the intention from the two co-founders of this unique competition, Sverre Liliequist (SWE) and Kaj Zackrisson (SWE), this week has been characterized by a spirit of brotherly challenges rather than intense competitiveness. However, when the battle is on the brothers bundle up for their team.

Today's battlefield was the Big Mountain. Held on a face only accessible by helicopter, riders from both teams showed off their skills and joy of skiing in face-off heats just like in the Backcountry Slopestyle event. The heats were divided into two rounds where each rider had to meet a skier from the other continent in a duel, fighting for 1 point for their respective teams each time.

Team Europe went into today's event with a 10 to 8 lead taken in the Backcountry Slopestyle yesterday. Today they repeated their success with another 10 to 8 victory, leaving the total score at 20-16 to Team Europe.

Most runs of the first round were dominated by tricky snow conditions and the riders having to feel where they could charge and where to be smooth and light. There were a few exceptions with for example Swatch Proteam member Samuel Anthamatten (SUI) showing his peers the hidden jewel of the mountain by a gap that did not look rideable. Linking it into a fun overall use of the face and playing with the many wind-created formations, it left little chances for his opponent to beat him. Besides winning the point, his run also earned him big cheers from both teams.Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA) also put on a run that stood out in his heat against the playful Sage Cattabriga-Alosa (USA). In Loïc's usual no-hesitation-style, he put all show ingredients into a fluid run with no signs of balance issues.The fastest paced run of the day, packed with action was delivered by Rory Bushfield (CAN) who made it looked like the face had been groomed just for him, showing his acrobatic skills as well.The first round ended 5-4 with Team Americas getting one more precious point behind in the overall. The second round could thus begin at an overall score adding up to 15-12 to Team Europe, counting yesterday's BCS points.

Tim Durtschi (USA) - SSC14 Big Mountain - Photo Dom Daher.jpg

2nd round – win or lose but most importantly: enjoy

Lagging 3 points behind, with an overall score adding up to 15-12, Team Americas went motivated into the second round with their captain, Seth Morrison (USA) taking the first point against European Team Captain, Julien Regnier (FRA) with his signature backflip in the first heat. However, in the next two heats, the stand-ins for Sven Kueenle (GER) and Richard Permin (FRA) took home two more points for Team Europe: one was event co-founder, Kaj Zackrisson (SWE), who was on fire with what he afterwards called "monkey skiing." The other was a spectacular run from Freeride World Tour rider Nicolas Salencon (ARG/FRA) in a playful freestyle mode. In heat 4 and 5, Sage Cattabriga-Alosa (USA) and Logan Pehota (USA) did what they could to bring back hope to their team. Both delivered sweet lines, taking points from the two strong Europeans, Samuel Anthamatten (SUI) and Sam Favret (FRA). Tanner Rainville (USA) then confirmed Team Americas' determination beating Nicolas Vuignier (SUI) and taking the score to a close 16-17 behind Team Europe. Team Americas thus needed to take two more wins of the remaining three heats. Andy Mahre (USA) and Fabien Maierhofer (FRA) kept the suspense with probably the most even heat of the day, ending up to the advantage of the Frenchie. The next face-off was an imposed all-or-nothing strategy for Rory Bushfield (CAN) when Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA) stomped a second full repertoire run, underscoring why he is the World Champion in this discipline. Rory went for it but crashed after an ambitious attempt at backflipping in a huge jump turn, thus putting a definitive end to Team Americas chances of keeping the trophy.Since the battle was settled by then, Dana Flahr (USA) and Sverre Liliequist (SWE) decided to ride together in their heat, in the spirit of the event. Co-founder, Sverre used the occasion of this last heat to sign off the event with a big front flip just before the finish.

Loïc Collomb-Patton who delivered impeccable lines in both heats commented in the finish area: "Technically, it's the same approach as for a run on the Freeride World Tour, but the atmosphere is really special for this competition. We are all together during this week, Europeans and North Americans alike. We both push and challenge each other. For my second run, Samuel [Anthamatten] helped me a lot choosing the line and I skied more or less his line – just in a different way."

Freeride World Tour General Manager, Nicolas Hale-Woods (SUI), who delivers the structure behind the event was left inspired after a week with these superstar riders:"The level of skiing is amazing – but what strikes me most is the good spirit between the teams," he commented. "It has been really interesting to witness how the guys helped out each other. This morning I saw the young Logan Pehota being coached by Cody Townsend about his line for example. That's the spirit that makes this event so special and we will do our part to keep it that way."

The Swatch Skiers Cup, the first-ever continental team freeski event, Zermatt / Switzerland - February 2015. 18 of the world's best freeskiers competing in both Big Mountain and Backcountry Slopestyle to bring back home the treasured Swatch Skiers Cup trophy.The 2 teams of 9 Riders, led by captains Seth Morrison - USA (Team Americas) and Julien Regnier - FRA (Team Europe), will battle in a series of man-to-man duels in the Swiss Alps. A rider winning his duel scores one point for his team and the team with the most points at the end of the 2-day competition gains possession of the Swatch Skiers Cup trophy for one year.swatchskierscup.com J.Bernard

TEAM EUROPE TAKES A TIGHT LEAD IN THE SWATCH SKIERS CUP 2015

Zermatt, Switzerland - February 25, 2015 - The Swatch Skiers Cup 2015 Backcountry Slopestyle (BCS) event took place today in a stunning setting, literally rubbing against the monumental Matterhorn. Team Europe won 10 of the 18 heats, bringing the current score to 10-8 going into the second and decisive event tomorrow: The Big Mountain event.

Her Majesty the Matterhorn has been around for a while but certainly, she hasn't seen this kind of action right at her feet before. On the longest ever BCS venue with a vertical drop of 600m (2000 ft), the rivaling teams threw on one duel after another of acrobatic accomplishments and unbelievable balance.The judges scored the runs by heats of 2 from a simple scale of win or lose. However lots of details go into the judgment of the overall impression. SSC judge and former pro skier and 2002 X Games bronze medalist Philippe Poirier (CAN) explains: "We look a lot at the style in the air, the composition and fluidity of the run, originality and of course the balance in the landings. Also, even if you know your opponent has crashed, you have to still go for it, so if you come down doing thee spread eagles to stay safely on your feet, you still risk losing it."

Sam Anthamatten swatchskierscup.com D.Daher

1st round – The test drive that counts

The difficulty of the first round is that the skiers have only had a visual check to base their decisions on. They have to rely solely on their feel for the snow and their experience to adjust the speed to the different features. Sam Favret (FRA) started out taking a point for Europe in the first heat by beating Sage Cattabriga-Alosa (USA) – both stomping their runs but Sam throwing tricks of higher difficulty. The next four rounds would see points going to Team Americas. Both Richard Permin (FRA) and Sven Kueenle (GER) crashed hard in their heats, taking them out for the second round and sending them straight for a medical check-up.The first round finished of with a duel between the two Team Captains, Seth Morrison (USA) and Julien Regnier (FRA) with the victory going to Julien after Seth had laid out with a Flat3 Japan up top followed by a huge back flip off a cliff earning him the baptizing rights. He just managed to save the landing but then crashed after the next feature.The first round ended with a score of 5-4 to Team Americas.

2nd round – The big arms were taken to battle

This is traditionally the round where the riders pull off their best stuff, after having tasted the terrain and felt how much speed is needed to get the air wanted in the first round.The second round laid out with a duel between duel Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA) taking the score even by beating Rory Bushfield (CAN) who almost beat the strong Frenchie by going for the wow factor, opening of the big kicker 4 that none had felt tempted to take in round 1.

swatchskierscup.com Foto J.Bernard Ridre Cody TownsendThen next many rounds kept the score very close, alternating wins to the two teams all the way up to the much awaited heat of legends: Seth Morrison (USA) versus Sverre Liliequist (SWE). Both guys showed that they are not done playing yet. Seth sent an even bigger back flip than first time off "his" cliff – inspiring Sverre to send an evenly big back flip off another cliff. Both crashed but the wow factor was such that they definitely delivered the highlights of the day. Sverre got the point taking the score to an even 9-7.Andy Mahre (USA) set up a spectacular second run but not enough to beat Sam Favret (FRA) in this very tight heat. Finally, Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA) having stepped in for Sven Kueenle (GER) in the heat that showed the highest level of the day against Sage Cattabriga-Alosa (USA).

Sage won the heat with probably the most creative line of the day, including combination of a man-made and natural feature into a double up top and opening up a new air.

"No one else hit it [the kicker] and I would just rather land in powder," Sage said afterwards and explained that it usually adds to the overall impression as well: "It's always better to do a different line than what everyone else is doing in these types of contests where it's about overall impression. Since no one had hit it, it's kind of more surprising."

The score of the Backcountry Slopestyle event thus ended 10-8 to Team Europe. Before finding the overall winning team of this 5th edition of the Swatch Skiers Cup, there is still one more event to go. The Big Mountain event will be held on Thursday. The final score will be settled and the winners will be revealed at the Official Prize Giving Ceremony at 6pm in the Event Village in front of the Swatch store in Zermatt.

SWATCH SKIERS CUP 2015 BACKCOUNTRY SLOPESTYLE EVENTCONFIRMED FOR WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25 - LITERALLY ON THE FLANK OF THE ICONIC MATTERHORN

Zermatt, Switzerland, February 24 2015 - The Swatch Skiers Cup 2015 kicks off with the Backcountry Slopestyle (BCS) event on Wednesday at 10am (CET). The legendary event will take place on the venue prepared below the Hörnli ridge in the Schwarzsee sector of Zermatt. It will be the longest Backcountry Slopestyle in the world with 600 vertical meters (2000ft) and a total length of 1300m (4300ft).

Epic action - accessible to the public

The Backcountry Slopestyle venue has been designed and prepared by the head shaper Arnaud Kugener (FRA) and his team over the past three weeks to give the riders an optimal playground and the spectators a jaw dropping show. The battle will play out literally just below the Matterhorn on its north flank.This crowd pleasing event can be watched live from the public viewing area directly on the Stafelapl slope (no. 52) down from Schwarzsee.

Breath-taking action guaranteed

In the BCS event, the world class riders known from the ski movies, can be seen throwing trick after trick while riding down the backcountry terrain. The contest is held as team duals between a team of skiers representing Europe and a team from the Americas. This format is known to spice up the atmosphere with team spirit and continental pride, giving the skiers extra wings and the spectators a clear team to cheer for.

Off snow program in the Event Village

The Swatch Skiers Cup Event Village opens Tuesday at 3pm just in front of the Swatch Shop. Lots of festivities will take place here with DJ and happenings. The Opening Ceremony will also take place here at 5.30pm Tuesday followed by an autograph session with the skiers.

On Wednesday after the Backcountry Slopestyle event, a flower ceremony will be held in the Event Village showing a recap of the day with spectacular footage captured from the helicopter and on the terrain. The ceremony finishes off with the draw between the two Team Captains, Julien Regnier (Team Europe) and Seth Morrison (Team Americas) deciding the heats for the Big Mountain event.

Swatch Movie Night

On Tuesday night there will be a unique screening of MSP's latest ski movie "Days of My Youth" at the Cinema Vernissage at 9.30pm with guest appearances of Swatch Proteam athletes including Cody Townsend (USA), Richard Permin (FRA), Sam Anthamatten (SUI).

From 10 years the World Rookie Tour and the Black Yeti are scouting for tomorrow snowboard stars and are creating incredible events for under 18 years old riders only. Started from a single event, the World Rookie Fest in Livigno, Italy, and developed into a global series with more than 10 international events every year, the World Rookie Tour today is the largest and most popular youth snowboard project on planet Earth.

Featuring some of today world top athlets, and yesterday snowboard legends, this video documentary shows snowboard champions and olympic finalists when they were 12 years old riders sponsored by "mom & dad", this 10 minutes documentary explains what the World Rookie Tour did in the last 10 years.

DON'T MISS THE UPCOMING WORLD ROOKIE TOUR EVENTS!Norway is getting ready for the Oslo Rookie Fest 2015The first edition of the Oslo Rookie Fest is soon about to go down. From 27. Februar to 1. March 2015, the rookies have the chance to ride the famous Superpipe at Oslo Vinterpark in a WST NATIONAL event. Besides the competition, there are a bunch of amazing side activities offered for the young snowboarders such as a practical workshop abuot sport photography hosted by Markus Fischer (Pleasure Snowboard Mag photo editor) and the possibility to rider with disabled snowboarders. Between practice and competition, the Rookies will be able to join all the other activities of the Oslo Vinter Festival, such as snowskate, bandy and ski jump http://oslo-vinterfestival.no/.

The countdown is on for the forth edition of Trentino Rookie FestMonte Bondone will host for the 4th time the Trentino Rookie Fest from 25th february untill 1st march 2015. Due to poor snow condition the event will not feature an halfpipe competition for this season, and it will be focus on slopestyle contest with an extra night rail jam in cash for trick format and, as always, a bunch of additional side activities.

Age GroupsWSF rookie events are reserved to Rookies (born from 1st of January 1997 to 31st of December 1999) and Grom (born from 1st of January 2000 and up), both boys and girls. All contests of the World Rookie Tour will generate valuable results for the TTR World Snowboard Tour Ranks and for the World Rookie Rank developed by World Snowboard Federation.

The WSF World Rookie Tour is organized by the World Snowboard Federation in collaboration with its National Snowboard Associations, and it is made possible by Red Bull and Volkl Snowboards. You can follow the World Rookie Tour on our international media partners Onboard European Snowboard magazine, Cooler and MPora.

ABOUT THE WORLD SNOWBOARD FEDERATIONThe World Snowboard Federation (WSF) is the international organization exclusively working to develop the sport of snowboarding at all levels. Program areas include: competitions, Para-Snowboard, judge and shapers, education and certification, and snowboard activities for riders of every age. The WSF represents a network of National Snowboard Associations (NSAs) who work together at a worldwide level to promote the development of snowboarding. NSA members can find a source of inspiration and support from the WSF for the activities they are conducting within their nation and by working towards the same goal: progression of snowboarding from the ground up. The WSF collaborates with the TTR Pro Snowboarding, the owner and operator of the TTR World Snowboard Tour and the TTR World Ranking System. Through this collaboration and coordination of events at the TTR World Snowboard Tour, The WSF and the TTR want to create an environment that fosters the development of competitive snowboarding. In February 2012, the WSF and the TTR hosted the inaugural World Snowboarding Championships in Oslo, Norway, an elite level event to be held every four years in alternating cities around the world. Official website: Organisationwww.worldsnowboardfederation.org.

About TTR Pro Snowboarding and the World Snowboard Tour

TTR Pro Snowboarding strives to promote competitive snowboarding in representing the interests of a professional network of events, athletes, national sport associations and industry partners. A Non-Profit organization, TTR Pro Snowboarding owns the World Snowboard Tour, the World Championships of Snowboarding in partnership with the WSF, and the global ranking system - the World Snowboarding Points Lists (WSPLs). Through TTR's four-tiered tour structure, it encourages, develops and supports rider progression from rookies to world-class.

]]>marcelkrebs@sport-heute.ch (Marcel Krebs)Allgemeiner WintersportSat, 21 Feb 2015 15:02:41 +0100SWATCH FREERIDE WORLD TOUR FIEBERBRUNN KITZBÜHELER ALPEN BY THE NORTH FACE® STAGED IN VALLNORD ARCALIS-ANDORRAhttp://sport-heute.ch/outdoor/allgemeiner-wintersport/ski-snowboard-2015/1663-swatch-freeride-world-tour-fieberbrunn-kitzbueheler-alpen-by-the-north-face-staged-in-vallnord-arcalis-andorra
http://sport-heute.ch/outdoor/allgemeiner-wintersport/ski-snowboard-2015/1663-swatch-freeride-world-tour-fieberbrunn-kitzbueheler-alpen-by-the-north-face-staged-in-vallnord-arcalis-andorraNEW NAMES ON THE PODIUM CAUSING OVERALL STANDINGS TO CHANGE AND CREATING SUSPENSE TO THE END

Vallnord-Arcalis, Andorra - February 18, 2015 – The competition making it up for the Fieberbrunn Kitzbüheler-Alpen stop was staged in Vallnord-Arcalis today on a windblown Baser Negre face powdered up with a 15-20 cm layer of fresh snow. While enough to soften up most of the landings it provided good grip on most of the face, but also some traps that saw some of the favorites getting challenged on balance. This opened up for new faces on the podium keeping the suspense of the overall standing till the end. With this contest all riders have completed their qualification for the next stop of the tour, which will only include the top 7 women skiers, top 5 women snowboarders, top 16 men skiers and top 8 men snowboarders.

Men's Ski

The winning run of the day was delivered by George Rodney (USA) who has been on a roll since last Friday where he placed just off the podium in 4th position. Today he laid out a very exposed line going rider's left, 'goating' it down some snow patches to a big drop below. Stomping it perfectly, he finished off by sending a long-lasting snapshot spread-eagle, taking huge air from the bottom cliff of his line. With a line and score that truly set itself apart today, his friends ran into the finish area to celebrate with him as he received an impressive 88.67 out of the 100 possible. "After seeing Sam's run last week I was inspired to go into some no-fall zones," he said at the bottom with a big smile seeing himself in Alaska for the next Tour stop in 3 weeks' time.

The 2nd place went to Wille Lindberg (SWE) who showed off his jump turns from some well chosen features, both into the center couloir and down on the exposed snow patches in the bottom section. He connected it all in a unique run with striking precision and skill resulting in perfectly controlled flow and a score of 78.67.

Felix Wiemers (GER) made it into the 3rd position. Having had time to review his plan A after seeing many of the riders having trouble in the landings, he opted for a tactical change, playing it smart up top and setting up for a spectacular bottom cliff that he stomped. His scor of 77.33 put him in the lead which he held onto for a quite a while.

Tour leader coming into this event, Reine Barkered (SWE) got caught in the rocky section. The solid Swede came a out with no scratches and relief rather than anger was his immediate reaction after his run: "I had a crash today – in a very unexpected place! I didn't think it was going to happen there – maybe later – but it was one of those crashes where I'm just happy not to be hurt rather than being mad for falling."

The top 16 men skiers qualified for Haines, Alaska are:1 Rodney, George USA 4690.00

It took a Jonathan Charlet (FRA) in great shape to get ahead of two hungry Americans on the podium today. With a 2nd win in a row today, this begins to look like a fantastic come back season for Charlet. He rode fast and action packed as usual, cramming in multiple highlights with a 360, an exposed double and a huge bottom feature with nose grab giving him a score of 86.67. He was happily surprised that all his action worked out with no mistakes, just like last week: "I didn't think I could repeat last weeks performance this well again, but it went well. I'm really stoked to be going to Alaska. I hope we will have great conditions and I'm really motivated!"

Colin Boyd (USA) took the 2nd place opening a new, very original and technical line. He connected the features and couloirs very well starting off with a 360 and ending with a very fast double shooting down through a narrow opening where a butt touch probably cost him the first place.

Ralph Backstrom (USA) also showed good use of the terrain, taking the top feature over the longest part and going bigger and bigger as he came further down. He was scored 85.00 putting him into 3rd place in today's competition as well as in the current ranking.

The harder landings on the face today caused trouble for many of riders and it was no different for the female snowboarders. Estelle Ballet (SUI) understood to take advantage of this. With a solid run, sprayed with smaller airs all along she kept a good flow, taking home another 1st place with a score of 74.33. This puts her in a comfortable lead of the current standing. Estelle is thrilled about her lead and going to Alaska: "It's a really good day for me! I was starting the day in a bad way this morning and was worrying about the contest, but finally I really enjoyed it and rode exactly the line I wanted to. I am qualified for Alaska now, I can't wait to be riding there!" she commented after her run. Underscoring the big theme of the day, she went on to celebrate with her good tour buddy, Anne-Flore Marxer (FRA), who crashed in an audacious line today but made the cut being in 4th position of the current standing.

Newcomer to the tour Nicola Thost (GER) took 2nd place in today's competition with a score of 62.33 giving priority to speed over air. Not riding in Chamonix however, this was not enough to make the cut for this former queen of boardercross. Anouck Mouthon (FRA) stepped it up with her first FWT podium today and a score of 60.00 giving her a 3rd place, just front of her sister, Elodie Mouthon (FRA), who chose a more risky line with bigger features, but made a mistake after one of her airs. With her 3rd place today, Anouck just made the cut in the hot seat and moves on to the next stop together with her sister and the four riders currently ahead of her. Last year's overall champion, Shannan Yates (USA) can see herself moving down into 3rd place in the current standing very close behind Elodie after a rare crash from the otherwise very consistent rider today.

To conclude this event the FWT General Manager, Nicolas Hale-Woods (SUI) said after the competition: "With the challenges we have met from Mother Nature this year, it has been quite a fight to make sure that all riders got in three results to base the qualification for the next stops on. The riders have shown fantastic action and I wish to the organizers in Fieberbrunn, Kappl and Vallnord-Arcalis for showing outmost flexibility, hospitality and not least willingness to help make this possible!"

Outstanding displays and a rather unusual game since it put together the two nations that will welcome the FISU Winter Games in 2017 and 2019 respectively, i.e., Kazakhstan (Almaty 2017) and Russia (Krasnoyarsk 2019). After a genuine final thriller, Russia had the upper hand of this golden game beating their opponents 3-1 in front of full house with 5,000 spectators.Traditionally after the ice hockey medal ceremony, the Closing Ceremony of the Universiade took place.

In his speech, FISU President Claude-Louis Gallien first of all thanked José Torres Hurtado, Mayor of Granada and President of the Organizing Committee; Mr. Sebastian Perez Ortiz, Chairman of the Board Province of Granada; Mr. Francisco Gonzalez Lodeiro, the Rector of the University of Granada; Sandra Garcia Martin, the delegate of the Government of the Region of Andalusia; Antonio Granados, Councillor for Sports of the City of Granada and finally Ignacio Pipo, CEO of Granada in 2015 Universiade.

The FISU President welcomed the success of the 27th Winter Universiade, which brought together 2,400 participants and was the demonstration that such an event could be organized on two sites in two different countries. In total, 540 universities were represented at the Universiade that will leave an unforgetable memory to all participants, athletes, judges, referees, volunteers and officials.

Once the Granada Universiade was officially closed, the mayor of Granada handed the FISU flag back to President Gallien who passed it to the delegates of the city of Almaty led by the Mayor Akhmetzhan Yessimov and the Minister of Education and Science of Kazakhstan Aslan Sarinzhipov.Then it was time for the cultural programme harmoniously combining elements of Spanish and Kazakhstan folklore.

Some figures of this Universiade: 2,362 participants (athletes and officials), 392 athletes in Slovakia and 1,180 athletes in Granada, thus a total of 1,572 athletes, 540 universities represented; 42 nations from 5 continents (31 in Slovakia and 41 in Spain), 20 days of competition (9 in Slovakia, 11 in Spain), 10 training and competition venues and a total of more than 60,000 spectators (of which 50,000 in Spain).

FISU has noticed a growing interest on the part of our member federations. The level of participants is very high, take for example Russia, which had a delegation of 179 athletes, nearly a tenth of all participants. Other nations have also sent a large contingent of athletes: China (94 athletes), Canada (82), United States (117), Kazakhstan (89), Japan (97), not forgetting, of course, the two host countries, Slovakia (56) and Spain (78).

Many top athletes have also participated in the Universiade. Patrizia Kummer is the best example. This Swiss athlete, currently a Master of Psychology student at the University of Berne, won the gold medal of the 2015 Universiade in PGS, having just won the Olympic title in Sochi in 2014.The figures for media coverage of the Universiade are impressive as well: 150 hours of television production (44 in Slovakia and 106 in Spain), 105 hours of broadcast competitions on Eurosport. Several other national television channels also broadcast the competitions of the Universiade: KZTV, RTR, CCTV, CZTV, and CBSSN, and then there was the livestreaming on www.livefisu.tv.In social media, the FISU Twitter account @FISUnetwork has also exploded: 260,900 impressions over a period of 11 days (from 4/2 to 14/2), for an average of 23,700 impressions per day.